Less than 24 hours after a federal immigration officer shot and killed a 37-year-old mother in Minnesota, US Vice President J.D. Vance defended the officer involved, blamed the slain woman and said the incident should be a political test before the 2026 midterm elections, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
At the White House, Vance called the incident a "tragedy" but spoke out in defense of the officer, who was among 2,000 federal officers sent by the Trump administration to the Minneapolis area this week. The vice president also used social media to question the willingness of Democratic politicians to support law enforcement, a clear partisan move by a man widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in two years, Reuters reported.
The shooting on Wednesday was captured in several videos posted online, sparking heated and controversial comments - often along party lines - about how a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent responded to the actions of the driver who was killed.
Initially, U.S. President Donald Trump also posted his support for the federal agent and blamed the driver, but suddenly the White House announced that Vance would answer questions from reporters.
"Attack me, attack the President of the United States. Don't attack our law enforcement," Vance said.
The deceased was identified as Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen.
After reviewing the video footage, Vance blamed the driver alone. "I'm sure she broke the law," Vance said when a reporter asked him about his analysis. "I am certain that the employee had every reason to believe that he was in serious danger of injury or even death."